


You Were A Spice Runner?

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: Poe and Finn Have Conversations [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Backstory, Established Relationship, Finn asks about Poe's history with Zorii and Babu, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Poe Dameron gets a proper backstory, Poe has regrets and sadness, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Zorii Bliss and Poe Dameron were best friends, spice runners, spice running was a cover for the resistance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:15:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22071985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: Poe doesn't talk about his past very often. There are some parts he doesn't talk about at all. He'd done an excellent job over time at having never let slip his adventures on Kijimi. Poe doesn't like talking about it or remembering it. But now, after the war was over and they'd run into Zorii Bliss and Babu Frik, it's unavoidable. When Finn asks about what the story with them is, Poe relives a past he tries to forget and tells him how he became a spice runner and why Zorii is still mad at him.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Series: Poe and Finn Have Conversations [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588669
Comments: 8
Kudos: 107





	You Were A Spice Runner?

"So what's the story?"

"Hmm?"

"The story. You and Zorii. You becoming a _spice runner."_

Poe let out a deep breath and looked up from his data pad. He, Finn, and BB-8 were lounging in their living quarters in one of the few hours of free time they'd managed to get since the war ended two weeks earlier. Poe had his legs stretched out in front of him as he sat sideways on the couch, going over reports and mission approvals. Finn was at the very small kitchen table, a puzzle of sorts before him that BB-8 was providing lots of unwanted commentary towards. It had been a comfortable silence before Finn had spoken up, a more tense, hesitant one filling the space now as Poe thought of how to answer.

He and Zorii had a lot of history together, too many stories or near death and a bond of sorts neither knew how to properly describe. Instead, Poe answered with a slightly teasing retort of, "Seriously, you're still on that?"

Finn pursed his lips slightly, looking to the ground. Poe supposed it was only fair; he hadn't given up on what Finn was going to tell Rey, though he had been pretty sure he'd figured it out and was right when Finn finally admitted to them both about being able to use the Force.

"We decided no more secrets, didn't we?" Finn asked quietly, and Poe sighed because the answer was yes, they had. It was an agreement they'd made almost immediately after the last battle's celebration. Finn's forehead had frown lines marking it, ones Poe briefly thought of standing up to kiss away. He and Finn had been. . . well, he didn't really know what to call it- intimate, he guesses- since after the Battle of Crait. They loved each other- though neither of them had really said it yet- and that was enough of a definition to their relationship, Poe supposed. They were finding happiness.

Setting down the data pad, Poe swung his legs of the couch so he was sitting up facing Finn.

"What do you want to know?" he asked reluctantly. Finn almost looked surprised that Poe had given in so easily, pushing his puzzle away from him to give his whole attention to Poe.

"How did you end up a spice runner?" Finn questioned, fire and a little bit of disgust in the words. Poe supposed it was fair; runners had horrible reputations, bad attitudes, and often tended to leave destruction or chaos in the wake of their jobs. It was no secret to anyone in the galaxy that claiming to carry 'spices' was code for drugs.

"I never wanted to be," Poe said with a sigh. Truly, he'd made some good memories in his time as a runner and had met good people, but it wasn't the life he'd been looking for when he'd left the Republic's Navy.

"Then why would you? Of all people, I'd think you'd be _against_ spice runners-"

"Finn, it was a cover."

Finn stopped talking, his mouth still open as he processed Poe's words.

"A cover?"

Poe rolled his eyes with a smile, "Yes, a cover. I told you, I went straight from the Navy to the Resistance."

Finn frowned again as he processed and pieced it all together.

"My first assignment was to going a spice ring to help gather information from the different planets. I fit the type perfectly; I was young, I'd recently abandoned my government job in search of something new, I had no money and looked like a smuggler already. So they sent me to Kijimi where I conveniently 'ran into' Zorii and Babu. I'm sure my old reports are somewhere in storage."

Finn looked relieved at Poe's words. Part of it made Poe think about how Finn would have reacted if he really _had_ been a runner. He clearly thought the lowest of them; what would he have thought of Poe? He shoved the thoughts away as quickly as they came; Finn cared about him more than Poe could've thought possible. No matter his past, that wouldn't change.

"And Zorii?" Finn inquired. "Don't think I didn't hear that comment about a kiss."

A lopsided smile formed on Poe's face as he teased, "What, you jealous?"

Finn just gave a snort and smile, quick to come back with, "You wish. I know you too well to think you were being serious. There was just obviously some history there."

Poe nodded, his smile turning more tense. There was a time when Zorii Bliss had been his best friend.

"We got really close, over time. She was strong and snarky, a damn good fighter. It was easy, when we were running under cover and things, to pretend we were a couple. It became a pretty good joke between all of us. Babu would say that we were perfect for each other and didn't understand why were weren't actually together."

"Why weren't you?" Finn asked, sounding genuinely curious. Poe just shrugged.

"We probably would have been if we hadn't both been playing the other team."

Finn thought for a moment before nodding in understanding and his mouth forming a quiet "Oh". Poe had to laugh a little at the look on his face. Sure, Poe had had a girlfriend or two before and flirted shamelessly with everyone he though he could get away with doing so, but he'd never really been into anyone female. If he had, he was sure it would've been Zorii.

"We never told anyone but each other. The galaxy is vast and diverse, but it's still not exactly accepting."

Finn nodded again; he understood, of course. Even in the Resistance, where their relationship was possibly the most obvious thing about them and no one exactly cared, they kept it as low-key as they could.

"Zorii said you guy left them, left her in a hole," Finn prompted, making Poe bite his lip and look to the ground. He was by no means proud of abandoning the team that had welcomed him like he was family. Babu, ever one to live in the moment, had forgiven him, but he wasn't sure Zorii had. Poe regretted the bad blood between them.

"We got caught. It was my fault. We were running to one of the inner planets, close to a Republican base. I was piloting our ship, but I got cocky. We were boarded by the New Republic, who guessed our job as soon as they were on board. There have been smugglers and spice runners through every form of government our galaxy has had, on every planet, but those who are caught are never treated kindly. Sometimes they'll just get turned over to bounty hunters and call it good."

"What happened to you guys?"

Poe shrugged, eyes trained on the floor. "I don't know. I, um, got away, I guess."

"How?"

"Finn, listen, you have to know I'm not proud of this-"

"I'm not here to judge you, Poe. I've told you about my past- I just want to know about yours."

Poe looked up at Finn, who was watching him with kindness and curiosity in his eyes. He was hear to listen. Poe let out a sigh.

"I was scared; I didn't belong there, I wasn't a smuggler. So I flashed my Navy connections. I insisted they contact Leia. Eventually, when my story checked out and I wasn't some common, petty runner anymore, they let me go. Jess and Snap picked me up and I never looked back. I didn't even try to help them. Seven months I spent on Zorii's team and I just left them there, too scared for my own ass. Zorii and Babu got away, obviously- I have no idea how- and I know they tried tracking me down for a while. She got a transmission to me once, screaming, telling me to never even come back to Kijimi if I knew what was good for me. Just before it ended, I heard her cry, whispering that she loved me and good luck saving the galaxy. I could hear that playing in my head for days. As for the others. . ."

Poe trailed off. He knew they were all either in prison or dead. None of them deserved their fate. For all their faults, everyone he'd run with had been good people, ones that in another life could've been like family. In staring at his hands, Poe hadn't realized that Finn had moved until the ex-trooper was kneeling in front of him. Finn put on hand on Poe's knee.

"It wasn't your fault," Finn whispered to him. Poe scoffed a little, shaking his head. Of course it was his fault. He left them behind in favor of saving himself.

"It wasn't," Finn insisted, as though reading Poe's thoughts. Poe just ignored it, knowing it wasn't an argument worth getting into. Instead he just looked up to Finn's dark eyes, forcing a small smile onto his face.

"You know, I've never told anyone any of that before. Leia knew, she knew everything, but no one else. Jess and Snap tried getting it out of me, but nothing. Guess you must be pretty special."

Finn, ever in tune with Poe, sensed the need for lightness and normalcy in Poe's thoughts. He smiled, rolling his eyes slightly. "I must be."

BB-8, who had stayed silent for the whole conversation as he sat on his charging station, rolled over with a few choice beeps condemning Poe's words. Poe rolled his eyes at his droid, reaching down to run a hand over the cool metal.

"Yes, okay, technically I told you first. But only because you're an eavesdropping, snoopy little droid," Poe teased with a smirk, causing BB-8 to roll back slightly in mock offense. He flashed his lighter at Poe in a gesture that very much was not meant to be a thumbs up, causing Finn to laugh loudly. Poe laughed with him, patting the side of the couch next to him in a beckon for BB-8 to come to him. The droid complied, nuzzling his head best he could against Poe's leg.

Finn joined Poe up on the couch, pressing their sides together as he gently kissed Poe's temple.

"Quite the pair of Generals we make, huh? An ex-trooper and ex-spice runner. . ."

Poe smiled, leaning into Finn's side a little as he rubbed BB-8's rounded head. "Quite the pair, indeed."


End file.
